Can't Hurry Love

WELCOME BACK MOLLY O'KEEFE

Molly O'Keefe is a RITA-Award winning author with 20 Harlequin novels in publication. She's won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award for Best Flipside in 2005 and Best Superromance in 2008. 

Her first Bantam Contemporary Romances, Can't Buy Me Love was released in June 2012 and its follow up Can't Hurry Love in July 2012. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her family and the largest heap of dirty laundry in North America.

CAN'T HURRY LOVE

Victoria Baker, the penniless widow of a disgraced financier, is ready to stand up, be counted, and make a new life for herself and her beloved son in Texas. She’s taking over Crooked Creek ranch, her birthright, and turning it into something special. All that stands in her way is Eli Turnbull, a rugged, too-handsome cowboy who wants the land just as badly.

If Victoria wants a fight, Eli will give her one. He’s devoted his life to Crooked Creek, and he’s not about to let some pampered city girl—even one as brave and beautiful as Victoria—turn it into some silly spa. But Victoria’s and Eli’s burning anger and frustration only fuel heat of another kind: uncontrollable passion. And soon they each realize that the person standing in their way is the one they can never do without.

GET TO KNOW MOLLY O'KEEFE

MAUREEN: Where in the world would you most like to visit? 

MOLLY: Right now, we’re thinking about going to England in four years for the World Cup Rugby. We had such a great time in a camper in New Zealand and it would be so amazing to tour around Great Britain in the same way.

MAUREEN: What’s next for you as an author? 

MOLLY: I’m starting a new series! It’s southern, it’s funny, it’s sexy – a  settled man trying to get wild and a wild woman trying to settle down. I don’t have any titles yet – but catch up with me on Facebook and I’ll let you know as soon as I do. In the meantime, the third book in the Crooked Creek series, CRAZY THING CALLED LOVE, will come out early in 2013.

MAUREEN: What’s your favorite fairy tale? 

MOLLY: Oh, I love Beauty in the Beast. That push pull – the hero and villain all in one. What’s not to love in that?

MAUREEN: What’s the best vacation you’ve ever been on? 

MOLLY:  I had some great ones as a kid – my parents always took us backpacking in Montana and Wyoming. I have fabulous memories of those trips. But this last epic adventure with my own kids in New Zealand – so amazing.

MAUREEN: Would you rather sky dive or scuba dive?

MOLLY:  Scuba – oh my god – I do not understand sky diving. My husband loves it – I can barely get in a plane, much less jump out of it.

MAUREEN: Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind? 

MOLLY:  I do every once in a while. While I’m editing I usually do and I love Florence and The Machine and Adele. 

 

MAUREEN: If you could interview one person (and it doesn’t have to be a writer) who would it be?

MOLLY:  Bruce Springsteen. I had this dream a few nights ago that I saw Springsteen at a Medieval Times and I was trying to get my picture taken with him and I just wanted to ask him about his work out routine and my camera broke, my husband’s camera broke and then my brother’s camera broke. Had to be a stress dream.  But yes, I have so much I would ask him, about what drives him on stage, what compels him while writing, and I’d like to hear him talk about his relationship with his band.

MAUREEN: Strawberry daiquiri or a beer? 

MOLLY: Oh my gosh – Daiquiri? I can’t remember the last time I had a daiquiri. I adore beer. I think I’d be 20 pounds lighter if I didn’t love beer so much. But alas, my love will not be denied.

MAUREEN: Do you remember your grade one teacher’s name?              

MOLLY: Yes, Ms. Navotny. Prettiest woman in the world, long brown hair, she had a horse charm on her necklace. She was amazing. Sweet and calm.

MAUREEN: Who was your first best friend? Are you still in touch?

MOLLY:  Allycia Marie and it is a great delight in my life that she is still my best friend.

MAUREEN: What soundtrack or playlist do you recommend for your current release?

MOLLY:  Florence and The Machine – Shake it off. A lot of stuff in that song about forgiveness and holding onto the past – love it.

 

MAUREEN: What would you say is your most interesting quirk?

MOLLY: I NEVER close cupboard doors. Makes my husband seriously crazy.

MAUREEN: What’s your idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon? 

MOLLY:  Oh, wake up. A little reading. Husband makes eggs. I go for a run. The family goes to the farmer’s market up the street. I get a chance to do some writing. We have a great dinner from the farmer’s market. Husband puts the kids to bed so I can do a little more writing.

 

GOTTA ASK -- GOTTA ANSWER  ☺

MAUREEN: What was/were the first romance novel(s) you fell in love with?

MOLLY: Oh I loved Elizabeth Lowell categories and  Judith McNaught historicals. 

MOLLY ASKS READERS:

Which romance novels did you first fall in love with?

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH MOLLY:

Website: www.MollyOKeefe.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MollyOKeefeBooks
Twitter: @MollyOKwrites

DON’T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes. Join us tomorrow when Jillian hosts Kira Brady. Our own Heather Snow debuts  her second release, SWEET DECEPTION next week. ~Maureen

Can't Buy Me Love!

Today I'm super excited to welcome back Molly O'Keefe whose contemporary romance, Can't Buy Me Love releases today!!!!

I'm lucky to be Molly's critique partner, so I got to read this book, well, ages ago, but the first line/paragraph still sticks in my mind as one of the best I've ever read. And the rest of the book lives up to the promise of that great opening.

ABOUT MOLLY O'KEEFE

Molly O'Keefe is a RITA-Award winning author with 20 Harlequin novels in publication. She's won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award for Best Flipside in 2005 and Best Superromance in 2008.

Her first Bantam Contemporary Romances, Can't Buy Me Love will be released in June 2012 and it's follow up Can't Hurry Love in July 2012. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her family and the largest heap of dirty laundry in North America.

You can keep up with Molly here: 

Twitter:  @MollyOKWrites
Facebook:  MollyOKeefeBooks

ABOUT THE BOOK

Can't Buy Me Love

by Molly O'Keefe

Bantam
June 26, 2012
ISBN 978-0440423072

In Molly O’Keefe’s captivating new contemporary romance, a woman with a past and a man without a future struggle to find a place where they belong. 

A girl from the wrong side of the tracks, Tara Jean Sweet knows that opportunity will never knock; she’ll have to seize it. Elderly Texas rancher Lyle Baker has a dying request: He will give Tara Jean a stake in his leather business in exchange for a little family subterfuge. All Tara Jean has to do is play the part of a gold-digging fiancée to lure Lyle’s estranged children home.

The mission is soon accomplished. Now Lyle’s gone—and his ridiculously handsome son, Luc, an ice hockey superstar sidelined by injuries, is the new owner of Crooked Creek ranch. He’s also Tara Jean’s boss. But being so close to sinfully sweet Tara Jean does crazy things to Luc’s priorities, like make him want to pry her deepest secrets from those irresistible lips. But when Tara Jean’s past demands a dirty showdown, will Luc stay and fight?

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING 

"Molly O'Keefe is a unique, not-to-be-missed voice in romantic fiction . . . an automatic Must Read!"

—New York Times bestselling author Susan Andersen 

"a roller coaster ride of tragedy and comedy that is matched in power by believable and sympathetic characters that leap off the page."

--RT Magazine, 4.5 Stars Top Pick

"O'Keefe adds significantly to her reputation as an author worth watching!"

--Booklist, Starred Review

 BOOK TRAILER

GET TO KNOW MOLLY O'KEEFE

 

MAUREEN: What's your favorite kind of book to get lost in?

MOLLY:  I'm 37 years old and I've read a lot and I read a lot and the honest to god real answer to that question is romance.  I read everything, but the only books I really really get lost in, are romances. And usually historical ones. This bright new world of YA has had some pretty amazing reads in it, but to get truly lost?  I need some romance.

MAUREEN: What's the first book you remember reading?

MOLLY:  The first book I remember having read to me is The Little Match Girl. I had this big red book of children's stories (how The Little Match Girl is considered a children's story I'll never know) and I loved The Little Match Girl because it had this illustration of a little girl peering inside this beautiful house at  a beautiful family eating a beautiful meal. And according to the story my mom read me, they invited the little girl in and they all lived happily ever after. It wasn't until I was older and read the book myself that I realized my mother had made that up so I wouldn't wail myself to sleep.

MAUREEN: What's your favorite love word?

MOLLY:  Adore. Adore says it all to me in so many ways. It can be platonic. It can be about brownies. It can be about children. My husband. It just conjures up such intimacy for me. Such affection. And it's french, which is always classy.

MAUREEN: What's your favorite hobby? 

MOLLY:  I would kill for a hobby. I used to love cooking, but then I had a family and it got ruined by picky eaters and dinner time battles. I've never knit, or been a photographer. Does laundry count? Drinking? If drinking counts, I choose drinking. With Maureen.

MAUREEN: Do you believe in alien abductions? 

MOLLY:  No. I don't, really. I think  if aliens were casing our planet, they wouldn't take so many insane people. Even if that's their plan for staying under the radar, how much are they learning from the lunatic fringe? And if they aren't casing the planet and they just happen to keep picking up the conspiracy theorists - well, that's just bad aim.

MAUREEN: Salsa or guacamole? 

MOLLY:  Guacamole, all the time, any time.

GOTTA ASK GOTTA ANSWER: 

MAUREEN: What was your favorite book when you were 12? 

MOLLY:  I loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and the Emily of New Moon books, but I think I was younger. Oh! All My Patients Live Under The Bed - a non-fiction book about a cat vet. I LOVED that book - if you have any young cat lovers in your life - that's the book for them. 

MOLLY ASKS READERS: 

What was your favorite book when you were 12?

BOOK GIVEAWAY

Molly will offer a copy of CAN'T HURRY LOVE to one lucky commenter!

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

The second book in the Crooked Creek series, CAN'T HURRY LOVE, comes out in just a month! I'm hoping we can lure Molly back to answer more questions then!

Carla Cassidy

Get Lost in This Story…

The town of Black Rock is under a dark cloud. Four single women have disappeared, and there are no leads as to their whereabouts. Until one evening, after work, pretty real-estate broker Layla West fends off an attacker, and becomes the newest obsession of a deranged serial killer…

Desperate for protection, Layla seeks refuge at the remote cabin of Jacob Grayson, the brother of the local sheriff. A former FBI agent, Jacob still bears the guilt of a similar case gone fatally wrong. Now Jacob’s growing desire for Layla could tempt him into letting his guard down…with potentially deadly results.

Lawmen of Black Rock – Sworn to protect lives, bound to steal hearts.

My good friend and chapter mate, Carla Cassidy, joins us on the blog today! I can truly say that Carla is one of the nicest, hardest working and most giving authors I know and I am so very pleased that she is here!

Carla is the author of over a hundred and thirty books. Yes, that’s 130+, and yes, I bow down in awe of her!!! She has written for Harlequin, Silhouette, Dorchester, Bantam and NAL. This summer at the Romance Writers of America® conference she will receive an award for 100 books with Harlequin and at last summer’s conference, she received the prestigious Centennial award from RWA! Carla lives in the Midwest with her husband and loves reading, writing and reality television shows.

Heather: How often do you get lost in a story?

Carla: I think it’s easier to answer when I’m not lost in a story and that would be when I’m asleep. I spend my days lost in writing my stories and then when I go to bed I read and get lost in somebody else’s story. After I shut off my light to go to sleep I get lost in ideas of stories I want to write until finally I fall asleep and start the process all over again when I wake up.

Heather: What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?

Carla: I love romantic suspense novels, but give me characters to care about and a plot to pull me in and I’ll get lost in any kind of a story.

Heather: Tea or Coffee?

Carla: Definitely coffee. If I could have it delivered intravenously I’d be a happy camper and I’d probably never enter my kitchen again.

Heather: What’s in your refrigerator right now?

Carla: Cottage cheese, lettuce, chicken…all kinds of healthy things for the diet I intend to start tomorrow. However, there’s a shelf in my pantry that has Hostess cupcakes, Little Debbie chocolate pies, cheese crackers and all kinds of wonderful carbs that scream a siren song to me whenever I go for the salad stuff. Rare are the times I don’t crash against the carb rocks!

Heather: What the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?

Carla: If I can I try to take a day to remember what it’s like to be a normal, functioning human being. I clean the house, cook a good meal, clean my office or organize a drawer or closet. I use that time to clear my head to prepare and start head-writing my next book.

Heather: What sound or noise do you love?

Carla: A soft rain or the wind through the trees. I also love the sound of a fan blowing. In fact, I sleep with a fan every night. I love the white noise when I’m falling asleep.

Heather: What’s your favorite ‘love’ word?

Carla: For me, actions speak louder than words. I love you, I cherish you, I adore you, are all wonderful things to hear, but it’s the unexpected kiss on the forehead as my husband walks by me, the light in his eyes when he smiles at me, the touch of his hand against mine…things like that ‘speak’ to me more than words.

Heather’s GOTTA ASK – Carla’s GOTTA ANSWER J

Heather: What is something that not a lot of people know about you but you wish more people could know?

Carla: That I can be quite goofy and I love to laugh. I think having a good sense of humor is sexy and I love people who don’t take themselves or life too seriously. It’s a crazy ride we’re all on together and if you can’t find laughter along the way, what’s the point?

And I’d just like to take a moment to thank the fans who continue to buy my books. I appreciate the support and hope to keep writing books that touch and entertain readers!

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

Carla: How much personal information do you really want to know about your favorite author?

What influences you into buying a book or trying a new author?

WILL YOU HAVE A DRAWING FROM THOSE LEAVING COMMENTS?**

Carla: Yes, I’ll be giving away all FOUR books of the Lawmen of Black Rock series!

Thanks so much for being with us today, Carla! Where can your fans learn more about you on the web?

www.CarlaCassidyBooks.com

**Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North American addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

Come back again tomorrow, when Angi hosts J.S. Nichols!